Thursday, October 25, 2012

Sarah Palin: For The Record

For the record, there was nothing remotely racist in my use of the
phrase “shuck and jive” – a phrase which many people have used,
including Chris Matthews, Andrew Cuomo, and White House Press Secretary
Jay Carney to name a few off the top of my head. In fact, Andrew Cuomo
also used the phrase in reference to Barack Obama, and the fact that Mr.
Cuomo and I used the phrase in relation to President Obama signifies
nothing out of the ordinary. I would have used the exact same expression
if I had been writing about President Carter, whose foreign policy
rivaled Obama’s in its ineptitude, or about the Nixon administration,
which was also famously rocked by a cover-up.

I’ve been known to use the phrase most often when chastising my
daughter Piper to stop procrastinating and do her homework. As she is
part Yup’ik Eskimo, I’m not sure if this term would be deemed offensive
when it’s directed at her or if it would be considered benign as in the
case of Chris Matthews’ use of it in reference to Rachel Maddow. Just to
be careful, from now on I’ll avoid using it with Piper, and I would
appreciate it if the media refrained from using words and phrases like
igloo, Eskimo Pie, and “when hell freezes over,” as they might be
considered offensive by my extended Alaska Native family.

The outrageously outraged reaction to this expression from perennial
hypocrites like Chris Matthews has only made me laugh. Mr. Matthews, let
me share with you my favorite Irish toast: “May we always be happy, and
may our enemies always know it.”